Ballots, Boardrooms, and Cubicle Diplomacy: Navigating Politics-Free Zones at Work
Keep Politics Out. Keep Progress In.
Picture this: You're deep in the zone, debugging a gnarly piece of code, when suddenly a political debate erupts nearby. Your cube neighbor starts raving about AOC. A guy from accounting counters with a passionate take on immigration policy. What was once a productive workspace has now become a verbal minefield.
Sound familiar?
In the age of 24/7 headlines, it’s tempting to bring those hot-button takes into the office. But here’s the truth:
Politics rarely helps your performance.
Let’s break this down.
Why Politics at Work Is a Bad Bet
🕳️ It’s a Productivity Black Hole: Nobody’s changing their mind mid-sprint. These debates don’t lead to resolution — they lead to distraction. Meanwhile, your inbox piles up.
💡 It Undermines Innovation: Psychological safety is key to creative work. But if someone feels judged or labeled based on their politics, they stop sharing ideas. Innovation shrinks.
🤝 It Damages Trust: Cross-functional relationships thrive on shared goals, not ideological purity tests. Once someone sees you as "that person" who always brings up politics, collaboration gets harder.
🛠️ It’s Not Your Job: Unless you’re paid to work in politics, you’re paid to build, solve, lead, and deliver. The more you focus on that, the more valuable you become.
⚠️ It’s an HR Risk: Even a harmless joke can spiral fast. HR issues waste time, create tension, and can stall your reputation. It’s just not worth it.
So What Do You Do Instead?
🎯 Focus on What You Can Control: Your work, your delivery, your professionalism. You’ll see dividends faster than you think.
🔄 Change the Channel: When a political convo starts brewing, redirect with empathy. “Interesting. Hey, how’s that feature rollout going?”
🕊️ Be Switzerland: You don’t have to weigh in. You don’t have to react. There’s power in neutrality.
🧹 Audit Your Online Presence: That hot take on social media? Might be funny today. Might be a red flag in a promotion committee next year.
Here's Where I Land on All This
Politics is energizing. Debating the world’s problems feels meaningful. But here’s the deal:
You have almost no real influence on politics — but you have massive influence over how you show up at work.
Eat up on the issues. Read deeply. Vote. Then move on.
I’ve worked in companies of all sizes. The highest-performing teams weren’t the ones who agreed on everything — they were the ones who kept the focus where it belonged: on the mission.
When we show up for the goal — not the argument — we build faster, smarter, and together.
So yeah, I have opinions. You probably do too. But unless we’re building policy for the Hill? We’re here to do great work.
Let’s keep it that way.
Talk soon,
Shawn
📬 Want more practical advice like this?
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And if you're early in your engineering or science career, check out the Foundations Course — the playbook I wish I had in my first 10 years:
👉 www.shawnisakson.com/foundations
